Fruity pot gummies risk repeating e-cig mistake
Danger of attracting underage users
Cannabis treats are leaning into fall, and hard. One edibles maker is promoting fruit-flavoured THC “pearls” with a #highforhalloween hashtag, while another has a “Scary Savings” promotion on its CBD chocolates.
But as the growing industry starts offering seasonal promotions just like other consumer products companies, it may want to take heed of a cautionary tale from the vaping industry: Flavours, when too successful, can addict a younger generation.
As the industry matures beyond raw flower into a wider variety of products, cannabis edibles are growing fast. Headset, which tracks industry data, estimates that U. S. edibles sales rose 80 per cent over the past two years.
Gummies, which are available in bear shapes, rainbow colours and flavours from raspberry-lemonade to exotic Hawaiian fruits, are doing particularly well, according to BDSA, a cannabis research firm. They are geared toward consumers 21 and over, but the explosion of offerings mirrors what happened in the vaping indus-try — which later had fruity flavours banned after they were linked to rising underage use.
It’s all happening in a bit of a regulatory void. A U. S. Food and Drug Administration meeting on CBD slated for Nov. 19 is expected to offer hints on whether the agency will view cannabis more as a food or a dietary supplement. But specifics remain up in the air.
For now, companies talk about how it’s hard to get dosing right with their cannabis edibles, but they rarely mention youth use or overdoses. According to Susan Weiss, a director of research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, accidental cannabis overdoses are up, particularly among children. And the heaviest users are 18 to 25, a critical age for neural development that cannabis use may affect.
Weiss said in a phone interview that it isn’t clear whether sweets and gummies alter the addictive potential of cannabis, “but if it gets people using products at a younger age, that creates a situation of greater risk of addiction.” Around nine per cent of people who use marijuana will become dependent on it, rising to about 17 per cent in those who start using in their teens, Weiss said.
Even when it comes to non-psychoactive CBD, companies should err on the side of caution, said Daniel Fabricant, CEO of the Natural Products Association and the former director of Dietary Supplements at the FDA. At the end of the day, Fabricant said cannabis companies need to ask: “Have you taken the steps someone would expect a reasonable corporate citizen to take?”